Home Phototherapy Is an Economical Treatment
- Home phototherapy is generally less costly for treating a chronic condition.
- Treating at home reduces time and cost of regular office visits to a physician.
- Insurers generally reimburse equipment costs since they save money too.
After gathering and analyzing the data, researchers
concluded that home phototherapy is
the least expensive treatment option, costing about $7,100 for a 30-year
course of treatment, with much of this cost paid by insurers. See Tables
below.
Research also indicates that efficacy of UVB phototherapy is anywhere from
60 % effective for broad-band UVB to nearly 80 % effective for narrow-band UVB for
treating psoriasis. At-home treatments with ultraviolet type-B (UVB)
phototherapy can offer a convenient, cost-effective and effective choice for treatment of psoriasis.
| HOW TREATMENT COSTS COMPARE | |||||
| Treatment | Annual Drug Cost | Annual Treatment Administration | Annual Laboratory | Annual Follow-up | 30-year Course of Treatment (Present Value) |
| Home UVB | None | $2,150 | None | $195 | $7,085 |
| PUVA | $398 | $412 | $241 | $390 | $19,102 |
| Methotrexate | $816 | $1,410 | None | $195 | $37,591 |
| Acitretin | $4,471 | None | $137 | $293 | $75,113 |
| Alefacept | $10 ,702 | None | $73 | $293 | $171,915 |
| Efalizumab | $16,198 | None | $9 | $390 | $257,684 |
| Adalimumab | $17,818 | None | $9 | $293 | $281,282 |
| Etanercept | $17,910 | $406 | $1,597 | $293 | $319,356 |
| TREATMENTS AT A GLANCE | ||||||
| Treatment | Administration | Dosage |
Treatment Frequency |
Labs |
Other Intervention |
Annual Follow-up |
| Home UVB | N/A | 6 Minutes | 3 Times per Week | None | None | Four Times |
| PUVA | Oral | 40 mg | 30 Treatments per Year | None | None | Four TImes |
| Methotrexate | Oral (Tablet) | 15 mg | Weekly | CBC & LFT 8 Times/yr |
Biennial Liver Bioposy | Eight Times |
| Acitretin | Oral | 25 mg | Daily | Lipids&LFT 4 Times/yr |
None | Six Times |
| Alefacept |
Intramuscular (In Office) |
15 mg | 18 Treatments per Year | CD4 Count with Each Injection | None | Six Times |
| Efalizumab | Subcutaneous | 75 mg | Weekly | CBC 6 Times/yr |
None | Six Times |
| Adalimumab | Subcutaneous | 40 mg | Every Other Week | PPD at Initiation | None | Six Times |
| Etanercept | Subcutaneous | 50 mg | Weekly | PPD at Initiation | None | Eight Times |
Findings presented at 2005 American Academy of Dermatology.